WriteScouts: Promotion – Building Your Email List 2 (MailChimp)

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Last time, we talked about the overview of an email list. Getting started was a challenge for me – for some reason, it scared the bejesus out of me. So, I thought I’d share what I learned when I started with MailChimp.

Getting started:

Login to MailChimp
Click on the Lists tab
Click on the Create List button
Follow the instructions to create your List

Okay. You have a list. It’s an empty list, but you have a list! And now it’s time to fill that list. To do that, you need email addresses.

Click on the Lists tab > Click on the little down arrow on the right.

 

 

 

 

Click on “Signup Forms” > Choose Embedded Forms by clicking the “Select” button.

You can choose between several embedded forms, such as Classic, SuperSlim, etc. To begin with, let’s just go with Classic. You can see what it will look like in the Preview window. The default collects your subscriber’s email address, first name and last name. These are the basics – that’s enough to communicate with subscribers.

Just below the Preview window is a section of code (conveniently labeled as “Copy/Paste Onto Your Site”). Click in the box and press Crl-A to highlight all of the text. This is what you will insert in the code of your website (for instance, at the end of a blog post, or on the front page of your website, or perhaps in the sidebar).

Other options that’ll be covered more in-depth later are pop-ups on your website, and Facebook integration.

Something to think about for next time – lead magnets. What can you offer your readers to entice them to give up their email address?

As a reader, what do you want from authors?